Of Stalkers and Magic Mistletoe
by Moretta
Summary: It's almost Christmas & Harry is being followed by his fellow students! Why? And how will he get rid of them? Funny, sweet and not quite what I expected when I started it, this story is of mistletoe and stalkers. Have fun! First in the Prompt War series.


Hello all! One day, me and my friend DerangedxandxSarcastic were thinking about Christmas presents, and this Prompt War idea came out of it.  
Since I suggested it, she got to give me the first prompt.  
Here we go!  
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Prompt One:  
****1. Mistletoe  
2. Eyeliner  
3. Stargazing  
4. The word 'snogfest' used by Ron  
5. Pansy winking **

Harry looked furtively around the corner. The coast was clear.  
He checked again. He looked everywhere, at the floor, the pieces of armour, and especially the ceiling.  
It was in this position – craning his neck to get a good look at the little bit of ceiling in the furthest part of the room – that Ron found him.  
"Hey, Harry. Are you stargazing? We're inside, mate. Not sure how much you're going to see from there."  
As he snickered, Harry frowned and punched him lightly on the arm.  
"No, I was not _stargazing_. I was making sure the coast was clear."  
"And you were checking the coast was clear _because_…?"  
"Mate, haven't you seen your sister lately? She's obsessed! I can't walk round a corner without the chance of being attacked! I swear, at the moment I've got more chances of being attacked by Ginny than by Voldemort!"  
Ron looked away, embarrassed, "Oh," he said, "That."  
"What do you _mean_ 'that'?" Asked Harry warily.  
"I'm sorry, mate, I've tried to talk to her. Hell, I even begged Hermione to, but she won't give up. We can't help you here and believe me, we've tried."  
Harry nodded.  
If his friends couldn't help him, he would have to help himself.

It seemed that the closer they got to the Christmas holidays, the more desirable Harry became.  
This astounded everyone, including the poor boy, who was completely lost. He was used to attention, of course, but not _this_ kind of attention. Half of his fans turned out to be very proficient stalkers. He couldn't walk down to the greenhouses on his own for fear of spells coming at him in such an open place. He was sorely tempted to use his Invisibility cloak to get around. At least if they couldn't see him he wouldn't be in danger.  
He would walk down a corridor, trying to get to class or a meal, and there would be people gently nudging him, trying to get him to notice them, but he would just bow his head and stride on past.  
On one such occasion, he bumped into someone.  
"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to -" A finger to his lips cut him off.  
"That's alright, gorgeous."  
He looked up to see Pansy Parkinson smiling at him.  
She winked at him and walked off.  
And Harry lost it. He let out an alarmingly loud and desperate scream and ran to the Great Hall. He threw open the doors, raced to the Gryffindor table and plonked himself heavily between Ron and Hermione, refusing to acknowledge anyone else.  
"Help me." He whimpered at Hermione, who looked at him once and promptly turned into a version of Molly Weasley.  
She gave him a warm hug and patted him on the back as he told her everything.  
In the meantime, Ron heard gasps coming from the other tables, and even his own. Turning round, he was confronted with the sight of his little sister.  
Only, she didn't look like the Ginny he knew and loved, no.  
She was wearing the tightest dress anyone had ever seen on a Gryffindor – of course, there was that incident with Seamus and the twins, but that was hardly the same – lots of eyeliner, and I do mean _lots_ of eyeliner, and her hair was done up messily.  
"Ginevra Molly Weasley, go back to the Tower and get cleaned up at once!"  
Surprisingly enough, it wasn't Ron that had spoken, but Hermione.  
"Oh, 'Mione… it's just makeup!"  
Hermione gave her an evil look.  
"If you don't go back and change now, I will _owl_ _your mother_. Don't make me do it, Gin."  
Ginny looked affronted at the very idea.  
"Just because you don't have the body to pull it off is no reason to punish me!" she snapped.  
Hermione dangerously raised an eyebrow.  
"Oh, really?"  
And in a flash of white, the girls had changed clothes.  
And boy did Hermione look _good_.  
Ron was speechless, eyes wide and mouth wide open.  
Hermione waved her wand again and suddenly Ginny looked normal again.  
Seeming to forget how she was now dressed, she drew herself up to her full height and said, "Ginny, I know how you feel, but you've got to realise that he doesn't want you. Get over him! There are plenty more boys out there!"  
She started pacing up and down.  
"And that goes for the rest of you mad people! Leave him alone! I don't understand why you all want _him_, or why you want him _now_, but if I hear that anyone else has been harassing him I will give you all _detention_!"  
From her left someone said quietly, "She can't do that, can she?"  
She turned on her heel.  
"Yes, I can. As Head Girl I can give out detentions as I see fit! One more incident and all the people I have seen or have been told have harassed Harry will have detention for a month! With _Professor Snape_!"  
Up at the Head Table, Snape looked rather smug at the prospect of all the students he could torture.  
Finishing her speech, she sat back down.  
Harry hugged her.  
Ron pulled him off her, muttering something like, "Oh no, mate… my go."  
When the Trio got up to leave the Hall, Ernie McMillan walked up to Hermione and opened his mouth, but before he could speak, he was interrupted by Ron, who growled.  
"Not a word, McMillan. Not. A. Word."  
Ernie gulped and backed away.  
Ron waved his wand and Hermione was back in her Gryffindor robes.  
She shot him a grateful look and lead them out of the Hall.

As Harry lay in bed that night, he could hear Ron murmuring to himself, but couldn't make everything out.  
"Bloody hell… Hermione… stupid Ernie… Ginny… Christmas… snogfest…"  
Harry snickered. He was going to have fun talking to Ron about his 'jealousy issues' when he wasn't even dating the girl in the morning.

It was now holiday time. Harry grinned. He loved Christmas.  
As per usual, the Trio was staying at the castle, but many more people than they were used to had stayed too.  
Shrugging it off, Harry walked into the Great Hall and towards the Gryffindor table and suddenly stopped; he couldn't move.  
Looking up, he groaned. Damned mistletoe.  
Hermione pulled out her wand and tried various incantations, but nothing she could think of worked.  
"Sorry, Harry. It won't come off until you've kissed someone. If the teachers put it there, then it can be anyone, but if it was a student, you'll have to kiss them."  
She bit her lip and looked apologetic.  
He nodded, taking in the mass of students at the table.  
Blaise Zabini and Seamus Finnegan walked into the Hall with the next wave of students and left out a simultaneous "Bloody hell!" at the sight.  
Ron spun around to face them.  
"You know who did this?" They glanced at each other and nodded.  
"Tell me who!" Demanded Harry.  
They both shook their heads and made a run for it.  
"You cowards!" Ron called after them, "You should both have been in Hufflepuff, not Slytherin and Gryffindor! Where's that famous bravery?"  
Hermione tapped him on the shoulder and he calmed down. Turning back to their trapped friend, she said, "I'm sorry, Harry, there's nothing we can do. You'll have to stay here."  
Ron nodded.  
"We'll bring you food, but we can't stay here with you."  
Harry nodded and settled himself down on the floor, thinking of the unfairness of it all. It was almost like being back at the Dursleys age 5, on the floor, no food, hurting from the latest of his falls at school, everyone laughing at him.  
Except he wasn't alone. He was receiving sympathetic glances from the other students and Hermione came back with a plate loaded with food. He felt much better after digging into the casserole.  
A few people tried to approach him, hoping that the hovering plant had been put there by the teachers, but they couldn't get closer than a few feet before they were stopped by the magic of the charmed mistletoe.  
He couldn't understand it, but he could see Hermione looking thoughtful and occasionally glancing up at him, the plant above him or another student.  
In the middle of dessert, the doors burst open and in walked Draco Malfoy.  
The blond glanced around the room, found Harry and strode towards him.  
Harry barely had time to stand up before Draco had passed the invisible barrier that had stopped the others and was kissing him.  
The Hall went quiet.  
The kiss was short, but sweet and wonderful.  
Draco pulled away, smiled softly at Harry and walked away.  
It took Harry a moment to realise what had happened.  
"What the hell was that?" he exclaimed.  
Coming to his senses, he followed Draco, grasping his arm just as the boy sat down at his table.  
"What the hell was that?" he repeated.  
"What, Potter, didn't you like it?"  
"I… you…" he was lost for words. Taking a breath, he started again, "Look. I just want to know what the hell got into you and what is going on. Why have people been following me?" he shouted.  
Seamus Finnegan and Blaise Zabini stood up from their seats and walked over to them.  
"Well, you see Harry," started Seamus, "there is this bet going on about kissing you."  
"What?!" Exclaimed Harry.  
"You've never been kissed publicly. The terms of the bet were to kiss you, in public, in front of at least 5 other people." Continued Zabini.  
"Why?" Harry looked annoyed, but tired.  
"Because we were bored. Originally it was just the two of us, but then loads of people got involved. The stakes grew until it was kissing you in front of the school, and the money you win is… wow."  
Seamus sighed dreamily at the thought of the Galleons.  
"How much?"  
"327 Galleons, 14 Sickles and 28 Knuts." Stated Blaise.  
Harry gulped, "That's a _lot_ of money. No wonder Ginny was trying so hard."  
"And Draco just won it all." Declared the Slytherin solemnly.  
Harry nodded.  
"So now what?" asked Seamus.  
Harry's shocked expression slowly turned into a smirk.  
"Why, I think, _Draco_, that since you had an unfair advantage, they money should go to charity."  
It was Draco's turn to look shocked.  
"You wouldn't…" he breathed.  
"I believe I just did."

Over at the Gryffindor table, Ron went wide-eyed.  
"He doesn't mean what I _think_ he means, does he?"  
Hermione shrugged and shushed him. This was _very_ interesting.

But back to where the action was taking place.  
Draco gave an exaggerated sigh.  
"Alright. Have you got a charity in mind?"  
Harry shook his head, "Nope. But agreeing isn't stopping me from doing this."  
And, of his own free will, Harry Potter kissed Draco Malfoy.  
If the student body was confused first, it was nothing compared to what they felt now.  
"Hey!" said Blaise.  
Harry pulled away and straightened, "Yes?"  
"You mean you two…?"  
"Indeed, Blaise." Replied Draco.  
"But that's cheating!" cried Seamus.  
"No. It isn't. Nowhere in the terms was it stated the person to kiss Harry couldn't be dating him."  
And the Hall erupted.  
People who were in on the bet were scandalised by the turn about of the wager, and people who were homophobic were scandalised by the mere idea of these two boys.  
Of course, there were many more in the former category than the latter.

Unnoticed by Hermione, Ron had stood up and was making his way to the newly discovered couple.  
_Now_, Harry was worried.  
Ron shot a look at Seamus and Blaise that clearly said 'you _will_ regret this later' and stopped in front of Draco Malfoy.  
Sticking out his hand, he said, "You take care of Harry. If you mistreat him, Hermione won't be the only one on your back, but the whole of Harry's family too."  
Draco took the proffered hand, "Deal, Weasley. Not that I ever will hurt him. Love him too much for that, and I'm a very selfish person."  
He looked at Harry, who had a loving grin on his face, and for that moment, all was alright in the world.  
  
_The Daily Prophet  
__  
ANONYMOUS DONATION SAVES ORPHANAGE  
__  
To many people, 550 Galleons is a lot of money. To the Dilys Derwent Orphanage, it was salvation._

_An anonymous donation made earlier this week enabled this establishment to stay open.  
"We don't know who sent it or why," said the carer for the children, "but the money couldn't have come at a better time. These children are all capable young wizards and witches, but without the donation, I'm not sure we could have stayed open much longer."  
Though overpopulated, the orphanage is not very big, and further donations, motivated by this first large sum, have been steadily pouring in._

"_These children are part of our future. We do a lot, but we could do so much more. Many of the magical children who have lost their parents are sent to Muggle organizations, but we think a childhood in a place where magic is part of everyday life will help them when they leave for school, as they will not have that usual support network that is a family to back them. Of course, we'll always be there for them," smiled the witch, "and we love them, too, but there are so many of them that the staff can't deal with everyone at once. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and tell my children the good news." _

If you wish to volunteer for it, just send an owl to the adress below.

Hogwarts School is also said to be looking into funding the institution, but Professor Dumbledore – Headmaster of said school – won't yet disclose information.

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So? How was it? You owe me a HUGE review, Haley!  
Love,  
Moretta 


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